Free college credits? Yes, free college credits.

story and photos by Michael Tilley

Jonathon Andreason, a junior at Booneville High School, may very well have as many college hours when he graduates high school as do many students completing their first year of college.

He’s one of more than 360 area high school students participating in the spring semester of the Western Arkansas Technical Center at the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Andreason also is one of thousands of area high school students who in the 10 years of the WATC program have earned more than 47,500 college credits before graduating high school.

The only negative to the program is its relative obscurity, said Roy Hester, who has directed the program the past two years.

“I run into people almost on a daily basis who don’t know about this,” Hester said. “Unfortunately, some of those people are educators at the (area) schools.”

WATC BASICS
According to Cathy Williams, supervisor of Community Partnerships and Career Education for Fort Smith Public Schools, high school juniors and seniors from 20 school districts in western Arkansas attend UAFS classes in technology and health occupations through the WATC. The students attend their home schools for half the school day, and attend WATC classes for the other half.

The students may enroll in the following programs: automotive technology, computer-aided drafting and design, electronics, graphic design, information technology, welding, criminal justice, early childhood education, general health and nursing, EMT, pharmacy technology, and medical office assisting.

Students earn high school and college credit for the courses. Books are provided and most districts provide transportation for the students. Many of the programs award technical certificates and industry certifications, as well as college credit.

“And all of this is available to students at no cost to them or their parents,” Williams noted in an e-mail explainer.

In the 2007-2008 school year, 483 WATC students earned 6,637 college credits valued at more than $730,000. Since 1988, WATC students have earned college credits valued at $5.2 million.

“More of them (parents) are seeing this as a good deal,” Hester said.

‘NEXT STEP’
To increase exposure of the program, Hester and other WATC personnel conduct “Next Step” visits to area high schools to explain the program. Hester said they will visit with up to 1,200 students to help them “see the connection between education and its practical application.”

The “dual enrollment” at high school and at the WATC provides four basic benefits, Hester noted.
• It gives students a chance to do something out of the normal high school routine.
• Students receive practice conducting college-level work while learning to work with college instructors.
• The program may serve as an “on ramp” to college for students who might not otherwise have considered college.
• The WATC can improve a student’s educational aspirations while reducing college costs.

“They get to experience it (college life) in smaller doses, and in a more sheltered environment,” Hester explained. “And so they have a little success and then they say, ‘Hey, I can do this.’”

WATC SUCCESS
Brittany Bright, Jody Mayfield and Sam Jones are just a few of the WATC success stories.

Jody Mayfield graduated Mountainburg High School in 2005 with 35 college-credit hours, then completed an associates degree in automotive technology before becoming — at the age of 21 — an O’Reilly Auto Parts store manager in Grove, Okla.

Brittany Bright graduated Mulberry High School in 2004 with 33 college-credit hours. She placed 7th nationwide in the Skills USA Web site design competition and became an adjunct professor at UAFS — making her the first former WATC student to teach other WATC students.

And Sam Jones, who graduated Greenwood High School in 2007, received an associates degree in welding technology before he graduated high school.

The university is not completely altruistic in its support of the WATC. According to Hester, about 64% of WATC students enroll at the UAFS. It’s a “farm team” concept, so to speak, with students getting a healthy dose of what the university has to offer before they leave high school.

SKILLS FOCUS
But Hester is the first to acknowledge that four years of college is not the only path to success, nor is it the best route for all students.

“There are many excellent jobs in today’s economy for people with the proper skills, and I don’t believe that necessarily requires a bachelor’s degree,” Hester noted in a Summer 2008 WATC newsletter. “The key to success in the 21st century will be to learn marketable skills. Acquiring those skills may only necessitate completing an associate degree or technical certification. In many cases those acquiring associate degrees go back to college an attain bachelor’s degrees as their job and lifestyles demand.”

The students are also smart enough to know where the jobs will be. Of the 365 WATC students enrolled in the spring semester, 103 were in health occupation (nursing).

“That’s a popular program. The demand is there, and they (students) know that nursing jobs can come with good pay,” Hester said.

Real-world experience comes with the program. As an example, CADD students helped MacSteel develop a safety training video using computer animation. And the auto tech students, led by Ken Butler who has 35 years of auto tech instruction, are working on an electric motor for a small pickup.

The top five popular courses for spring enrollment were:
• Health occupations, 103 students
• Information technology, 48 students
• Welding technology, 46 students
• Early childhood education, 34 students
• Criminal justice, 31 students

The spring-enrolled students hail from 18 area schools, with 59 from Fort Smith Southside, 50 from Van Buren, 41 from Alma, 36 each from Fort Smith Northside and Greenwood.

Believe it or not, 60 students from Waldron High School are enrolled, with 35 in information technology and 25 in health occupations.

‘HEAD START’
Not only does the coursework require commitment from the students, but so does making the almost daily trip for students in outlying areas.

Andreason doesn’t mind that WATC adds a few hours to his day.

“It’s worth it. I can’t get this there (in Booneville),” he said of the computer instruction.

Ditto for Cameron Sjo, a junior from Ozark High School, and Derek Fouts, a Lavaca High School junior.

“It’s a head start for me,” Fouts responded when asked why he enrolled.

The “head start” is the point of the program, Hester stressed, and not exclusively for the students. Hester said the WATC provides a more skilled workforce for the Fort Smith region. He cites federal statistics that up to 58% of the existing workforce will be retired by 2050. Further, the federal Department of Labor reports that 12 of the 20 fastest growing occupations in the next 10 years require only an associates degree for entry.

“Where do we (the region) get this (early start on skills training) if we don’t have (WATC)?” Hester quizzed.